Are you happy?

IamtheWalrus

I'm not. Haven't been for a few years. In fact, I can only remember ever being happy for 2 years of a 20+ years life. Most of my life I've been content but very rarely happy.

My question is, are humans ever really happy? Am I missing something? Are people who say they are happy actually just content. Should I be grateful for contentedness? I think happiness dies when you become an adult. You just spend your remaining years trying to survive, to stay alive and happiness becomes a bonus.

Is happiness in adults a myth?

For Forks Sake

No, you are the Walrus.

blacklilly

Im turning 26 in 37 minutes,this makes me unhappy

Jaxxy

If you can achieve and maintain contentedness then by most standards you're doing well.

nlgbbbblth

blacklilly wrote: »

Im turning 26 in 37 minutes,this makes me unhappy

Happy birthday. Sing Wham's The Edge Of Heaven to yourself.

mr.jingle

Nope. I'm overweight was tested today told i was obese and that was the worst feeling in the world. Tomorrow is a new start and the road to happiness awaits!:D

Ave Sodalis

I'm happy

Where To

I'm not happy.
































I'm fcuking ecstatic!!!

blacklilly

I better not, Im not a good singer

FunkZ

I'm Happy, though I'm also Sleepy

pragmatic1

blacklilly wrote: »

Im turning 26 in 37 minutes,this makes me unhappy

You'll be thirty in the blink of an eye if thats any help.

brummytom

Could be better, could be worse.

laoch na mona

if you have food shelter and company you should be happy

4zn76tysfajdxp

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

I'm not. Haven't been for a few years. In fact, I can only remember ever being happy for 2 years of a 20+ years life. Most of my life I've been content but very rarely happy.

My question is, are humans ever really happy? Am I missing something? Are people who say they are happy actually just content. Should I be grateful for contentedness? I think happiness dies when you become an adult. You just spend your remaining years trying to survive, to stay alive and happiness becomes a bonus.

Is happiness in adults a myth?

"The pursuit for happiness" is a myth. A mass delusion perpetuated by the self-indulgent middle-classes. You're better off settling for a tolerable level of misery, dulling your senses with substance abuse and hope every day it doesn't get any worse. Though it will anyway.

Ficheall

laoch na mona wrote: »

if you have food shelter and company you should be happy

<Godwin>

Kylo Ren

laoch na mona wrote: »

if you have food shelter and company you should be happy

A food shelter? I'd love one of those. Would get great satisfaction in feeding the poor.

dodderangler

Gigigty gigigty gigigty goooooooooo

blacklilly

pragmatic1 wrote: »

You'll be thirty in the blink of an eye if thats any help.

Cheers now I feel depressed

Littlehorny

You'll never make a happy person out of a miserable git its just the way we are made up. A positive attitude goes a long way but i've met people who are healthy, in good jobs and good lives yet a smile would make their faces crack.

Pottler

Funny one this. I work, really hard. I've had a fair few lads come to work for me that were pretty depressed for one reason or another, one lad was according to his family, "suicidal". I tend to have a great cure, I work the bollix out of them:) I've had neighbours kids (teens) come work with us that were considered "problem kids" and have become totally different, good manners, good attitude after a week of being with us. My own eldest had a severe attitude problem before I threw him in at the deep end and made him work and be polite at work etc. I think people get a new self respect and a new attitude to life if they are kept so busy they don't have time to be miserable. They also realise they are a lot tougher and more rescourceful than they thought and because they are in an environment with pretty hard men who are respectful but also demand respect in return, their attitude changes for the better.
Me, I'm happy, I do work I love, I work with great people, I have good, loyal friends. Arbeits macht man frei.:D I've had so many wives ring me and say their man is a totally changed for the better that I've lost count at this stage. Too much thinking is not good, and too much free time leads to too much thinking.:)

Bajingo

Jaxxy wrote: »

If you can achieve and maintain contentedness then by most standards you're doing well.

That's depressing, though I would agree.

Happy birthday. Sing Wham's The Edge Of Heaven to yourself.

Cracking tune and happy birthday.

Chuck Stone

You don't know that you're happy until you go through a period of sadness - only then can you look back and and think 'I was really happy then'.

Dead Man Walking

Happiness is what you make of it. Just spent the last half hour watching vincent browne and friends debating whether or not the batch of brown acid at woodstock was dodgy or not

Paco Rodriguez

I have food on my plate, a fresh water tap, a roof over my head, no war outside, no tsunamis volcanoes earthquakes tornadoes poisonous creatures to cope with and I have good health.
I am happy.

"Happiness is only real when shared"

Madam_X

Yes I'm definitely happy.

I guess it depends on what you define happiness. For me, it's not having any serious problems. Then I guess it depends what you define as serious problems. I don't agree food and shelter alone = happiness. Most people going through awful pain have those.
But if life is going well overall in terms of the people around you, earning enough to live comfortably, getting to do stuff you enjoy, having opportunities to fulfil goals and your only issues are minor ones and you're not worried/sad, then it's enough to be happy IMO.

Going through bad times gives you perspective too.

pragmatic1

blacklilly wrote: »

Cheers now I feel depressed

You're only a young pup.

Richard Hillman

Very pleased. I have no underlying issues just a few petty ones.

Knex*

I'm nearly always between content and happy and very rarely upset or annoyed over something for long.

Generally you'll find me in good mood and up for a laugh, unless I'm extremely tired. Its just in my nature to always be in good form.

That said, I'm only in my early 20s so have yet to break out of that "I feel invulnerable" mindset that can be associated with a lot of youths. Although close friends and family have experienced issues with health, addictions or poverty, I myself have been pretty lucky.

Shryke

blacklilly wrote: »

Im turning 26 in 37 minutes,this makes me unhappy

Happy birthday Lilly.

Andrewf20

The book - The consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton has a great chapter on the search for happiness. Interestingly it says that happiness is not mainly driven by money once the basics like food and shelter etc are covered. Health, freedom, friends & time for thought play massive roles also.

This link may be a bit heavy but its worthwhile to park some of its ideas at the back of your mind: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying. It really put some things in perspective for me.

One observation ive made is that alot or people inflict unhappiness by simply working to hard due to personal expection to climb corporate ladders and to pay for big tvs, fancy cars etc. Money rich but time poor. Health also often suffers which becomes more of importance to happiness as we get older imho.

Shryke

Chuck Stone wrote: »

You don't know that you're happy until you go through a period of sadness - only then can you look back and and think 'I was really happy then'.

That's what I say about depression and illness in general. You never realize how bad you are until you're out the other side.

Novella

I'm the happiest I've ever been.

tunedout

Pottler wrote: »

Funny one this. I work, really hard. I've had a fair few lads come to work for me that were pretty depressed for one reason or another, one lad was according to his family, "suicidal". I tend to have a great cure, I work the bollix out of them:) I've had neighbours kids (teens) come work with us that were considered "problem kids" and have become totally different, good manners, good attitude after a week of being with us. My own eldest had a severe attitude problem before I threw him in at the deep end and made him work and be polite at work etc. I think people get a new self respect and a new attitude to life if they are kept so busy they don't have time to be miserable. They also realise they are a lot tougher and more rescourceful than they thought and because they are in an environment with pretty hard men who are respectful but also demand respect in return, their attitude changes for the better.
Me, I'm happy, I do work I love, I work with great people, I have good, loyal friends. Arbeits macht man frei.:D I've had so many wives ring me and say their man is a totally changed for the better that I've lost count at this stage. Too much thinking is not good, and too much free time leads to too much thinking.:)

what's this sh*t all about? "i take people on and make them happy and mannerly". wtf are you talking about?

CageWager

The name's Larry

MultiUmm

There should be a "meh" option in the poll.

Deus Ex Machina

MultiUmm wrote: »

There should be a "meh" option in the poll.

No. There shouldn't be a "meh" option in anything. "Meh" isn't a word, it's a sound, a sound made by people with excruciating personalities assembled from watching friends and other such tripe. Death to "meh".

kryogen

When I start feeling sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead

MultiUmm

Deus Ex Machina wrote: »

No. There shouldn't be a "meh" option in anything. "Meh" isn't a word, it's a sound, a sound made by people with excruciating personalities assembled from watching friends and other such tripe. Death to "meh".

There should still be a meh option, for those of us who feel indifferent either way it sums up the mood perfectly. Long live "meh". :pac:

kowloon

The third monitor in my three screen setup has developed an irritating hum, I may have to replace it soon. If the steak I have for dinner tomorrow isn't succulent enough it really will be the straw that breaks the camel's back and the killing spree will begin.

Lia_lia

Yes, I've been happier this year (and a half) than I ever have in my life.


It's because I'm avoiding romantic relationships, which is pretty sad. But I don't care because it's all that works for me.


Would be even happier though if Ulster Bank sorted itself out and gave me all my moneys.

Daftendirekt

Not particularly happy at the moment. Pretty worried about the future, but I'm hoping things will pick up before the end of the year.

Still, I'm pretty lucky in many ways, so I second the need for a 'meh' option!

MaxSteele

I "think" I'm unhappy from time to time, but really I'm starting to realize I'm very fed up and unfulfilled at the moment. Haven't any real funds to do what I want. I'd LOVE to travel for about a year or two, but I'm stuck here studying (after a year out due to repeats and job searching to no real avail), and broke as ****.

I need a job and money.

cocoshovel

I think Im at the highest point in my life in terms of happiness. I feel fairly happy with how I am right now, my life and stuff I guess. Id say I'm more content than anything. At least I wouldnt say Im sad or depressed most of the time.

However, I am very unhappy with where I live. I hate this place right now. Aside from that its all sunshine and f*ckin daisies!

Sindri

We are an odd bunch. If you consider that we covet what he have once had as well as what we have not had becuase of what we have had you should notice that really happiness is entirely subjective and in fact our predication of happiness is really one we have decided upon or have handed ourselves due to our experiences in life. You decide what makes you happy. Isn't that very odd given how it alludes so many?

Even then I find many people, through lets say pride, are incapable of attaining happiness yet they do this to themselves becuase one notion they have of happiness takes precedence over another, their self-vindication perhaps as an example. Such conflict. Why? (An actual recognized disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, can lead to things such as the above though to be more accurate in that case it's to protect the ego and self esteem).

What's even worse, given our capability to imagine, we may imagine a situation or occurrence that to us is ideal. Yet it may be something that is impossible or near impossible to attain. Yet it is something we ourselves have chosen. You could say why not imagine something else, or nothing at all but part of the happiness we feel is the actual imagining of this fantasy.

Worst of all though is our actual ability to be sad and the fact that you cannot remain happy indefinitely for many many reasons but mainly our capability to be sad as well as neurochemical realities and what's worse that some people are predisposed to the likes of depression. You see things will not always remain in a homeostasis, you will not always be content, things will change, things could always be better as you can imagine it thus, you could suffer from over-entitlement (or some variation of it which you would be likely to do if you were always happy), or things could happen beyond your control.

And what's worse than all that if you consider a fixation one may have that causes them distress, for instance a behavior that happens to be ego-dystonic. A behavior that one is compelled to exhibit but also causes them distress. What do they do? It really is a very sad state of affairs; our conscious intellect and our inherent capability to never be content. It's handed to us at birth; in an already difficult situation.

What what may be worse than that (I know I've said that a lot :P) we demand happiness and our self esteem demands it. It MUST have it, no if or buts. And the only way out of that is depression. Or a fairly competent level of introspection and self awareness.

TL;DR - I've no willy.


Well that's fairly ****ing of topic (and a load of shite to boot)...don't mind me ladies and gentlemen I'll just take this thread, it's MY thread, my thread, and I'll do what I want with it...in fact you probably shouldn't read any more of my posts. :pac:

SharpshooterTom

At the moment obviously not but I'm hoping to change that with some hard work.

Fizzlesque

Chuck Stone wrote: »

You don't know that you're happy until you go through a period of sadness - only then can you look back and and think 'I was really happy then'.

I agree with this, but for me it is in a slightly different order. After a long time of living with sadness, emptiness and heartache, I'm delighted to have finally arrived at the other side and am now able to say 'at last I am happy'.

kfallon

I'm as happy as a pig in the proverbial!

Full health, great family and friends, I have a job....I have no reason not to be happy and content, there are people in this country and around the world who, unfortunately, have real problems and been thru tragedy and are a lot worse off than me!

JohnMarston

Financially my head is above water. My family is safe and well. I have a small circle of friends. Though i can't help but feel something is missing. Discontentment leads to unhappiness.

Pottler

tunedout wrote: »

what's this sh*t all about? "i take people on and make them happy and mannerly". wtf are you talking about?

tl/dr, I take mouthy little scroats on at work, work the bollix out of them and have them co-exist with lads who would gladly kick their heads in if they give any guff. Outcome is happier scroats with better manners. And some good money in their pockets. Usually cures a multitude.:) WTF did you think I meant, scroat?

Scanlas The 2nd

blacklilly wrote: »

pragmatic1 wrote: »

You'll be thirty in the blink of an eye if thats any help.

Cheers now I feel depressed

What's wrong with being thirty?

blacklilly

Emmm nothing if you're happy about it that is